Efficient use of the company's car fleet is a challenge of all time. Lately, I have to tell clients the difference between the systems of reservations and free floating. It should be noted that the reservation systems are traditional. But are the most effective today, or is it a technology soon to become obsolete?

Let's try to answer this question. It should be remembered that the car is used by the company not for entertainment (well, maybe sometimes) but for performing tasks. Sales, servicing, repairs – no matter, what, you must go to the client.

Let’s say, we have 100 employees and 50 cars.

20 years ago, this would not even be perceived a problem, everything is fine, every second has their own car.

8 years ago, a reservation system was introduced because of the economic crisis and the need of saving.

Today's statistics of the reservation system revealed the facts that fleets can be managed even more efficiently. That is, using the free-floating car sharing solutions.

But let's start from the beginning. Everything starts with the work process in different companies. Usually, everything starts with planning a visit to the client. Different employees do this differently. Some arrange a meeting with the client and only then book a car, others adjust the time of the meeting depending on available cars.

Since there is such a mix, it is impossible to organise 100% compliance so that all cars are used all the time and all needs of employees are met. Bearing in mind that cars are not necessarily available. This is mission impossible. Even in the most efficient systems, employees reserve cars for a longer period of time to avoid misunderstandings while it is waiting for another reservation or you are still on the road or stuck in a jam.

This excessive caution is ineffective. Not to mention the unforeseen circumstances or peaks when one day/hour, the supply and demand goes completely out of balance. Not only the employees but also the clients then suffer most.

Corporate fleet car sharing or on-demand system is by far the most effective way to use cars in the company. Not to mention that employees can unlock cars with a mobile phone, and you can avoid the key "logistics" (they are inside the car). The on-demand system perfectly balances supply with demand.

Generally speaking, you pay only for the time you use; if you do not use a car, it does not cost you.

Let's see how that works. Your 50 cars and 100 managers chaotically arrange meetings with clients. The demand for cars varies from 10 to 100 in days or hours. But you only have 50 cars. So there are two solutions:

1. The old reservation system with instructions to visit the client not when he needs it, but when there is a car available. Or the nature of your work is not clients but products (like cable TV sets), when you do not have to make arrangements, then the old system will work most efficiently because of the principle of the queue: one comes back, the other leaves.

2. The new on-demand system when any available car is picked up from the garage. You can visit your customers when they need, not when you have a free car. If you need 100 cars at this time, +50 can be used by public car sharing operators after a prior arrangement. If you only need 10 cars, then 40 can be sold in the public car-sharing market. I.e. in your own fleet, you only have to have the optimal average number of cars, after estimating a mid-range cost.

Take the statistics of how many hours a month your employees use cars (of course, if you are already using some kind of accounting or monitoring system) and you will know how much your own car you need to have. Buy any other fluctuations or compensate them with public car sharing solutions. This is the most effective solution today.